


though all to ruin fell the world

by smolsarcasticraspberry



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Shiro, F/M, a solitary f-bomb was dropped, aragorn and arwen au, inspired by a tumblr post, shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-30 20:27:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10884330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolsarcasticraspberry/pseuds/smolsarcasticraspberry
Summary: Shiro is an orphan with magical powers, adopted by the Alteans as a child and raised in the Castle of Lions. Allura is the beautiful princess, as lovely as any elf from legends, and Shiro might be... a little bit besotted with her.Aged seven, he asks Allura to marry him."When I'm big, I'll marry you," he says, as if offering a generous favour. He's a sweet good-hearted child, and Allura's just on the cusp of adulthood, still fresh-faced and willowy and uncomfortable in her own beauty. But little Takashi gazes at her like she personally hung every star in the cosmos with her own two hands, and she can't help but smile fondly at the earnest expression on his face."Oh, you'll marry me, will you?" she asks."Yes. If you want me to."





	though all to ruin fell the world

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this post](http://smolsarcasticraspberry.tumblr.com/post/160341468465/notbecauseofvictories-also-that-whole-tale-of) on tumblr, which is an alternative retelling of the tale of Aragorn and Arwen from LotR. Title is from Beren's song to Luthien because I'm a huge nerd.

He comes to them as a child - six years old, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. An orphan whose parents died in an accident that he should never have survived. But he did, which is how the Altean ambassadors discovered his gift.

It's only supposed to exist in Alteans. No one knows what to make of it. But the boy has magic, and he'll need teaching, so he comes to stay at the Castle of Lions.

+

Aged seven, he asks Allura to marry him.

"When I'm big, I'll marry you," he says, as if offering a generous favour. He's a sweet good-hearted child, and Allura's just on the cusp of adulthood, still fresh-faced and willowy and uncomfortable in her own beauty. But little Takashi gazes at her like she personally hung every star in the cosmos with her own two hands, and she can't help but smile fondly at the earnest expression on his face.

"Oh, you'll marry me, will you?" she asks.

"Yes. If you want me to."

"Why don't you ask me again when you're big, hmm?"

His smile could light the stars on fire, even then.

+

Aged twelve, Allura finds him sitting in the Black Lion's hangar, gazing up at the huge doors.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I dreamed about the Lion." His voice is distant and soft, and he doesn't look at her.

"Again?"

"I can hear her talking to me. She likes it when I come and sit here."

Later, Allura tells her father they may have found a Paladin for the Black Lion after all.

+

He's fifteen when her mother dies.

He walks with her after the funeral, and he's all long limbs and awkward elbows and his voice breaks in weird places but he's still the same sweet kind boy she's always known. They sit on the balcony overlooking the courtyards and talk for hours. Takashi is wise beyond his years, and he knows the grief of losing a parent, and when he smiles at her Allura doesn't feel so crushed and broken anymore.

He still looks at her like she hung the stars, but he says nothing about it. Instead he distracts her on her worst days, and walks with her in the gardens, and does his best to make her smile again.

"You're a good friend, Shiro," she says, because he's taller than her now and 'Takashi' feels too… personal. Too intimate.

"You know I'll always be here for you, Princess."

And that's new, too, because as a child he called her Allura. But neither of them are children anymore.

+

He's nineteen when King Alfor finally accepts him as the Black Paladin, and it's because they're desperate. The Lions cannot be found, and the Galra empire marches on across the universe, and they have no way of fighting back. They need Voltron. But the Lions are scattered and lost, and the only way to find them is through Paladins.

"Our ancestors should never have hidden the Lions," Alfor says sadly. "They should have left us with some way to track them."

"Shiro will bond with Black," Allura assures him. "We can't get her out of the hangar, but Shiro can still sense her and communicate with her. He can use that connection to reach out and find the other Lions."

It's the best plan they have. Shiro sits in the chamber for days, reaching out to the Lion with his mind, and their connection gets stronger and stronger.

"I have an idea of where some of the Lions are," he says to Allura, after weeks of patient meditation and bonding. "We can start there and hope that we find Paladins for them along the way."

"It sounds risky," she says.

"What other choice do we have?"

+

The night before he leaves on his quest to find the Lions, Allura walks with him in the gardens one last time. Tomorrow, the search party will depart - and the Castle of Lions will leave too. This planet is no longer safe, and they can't risk the Black Lion being discovered.

"I'll miss our little walks," Allura says sadly. Who knows when they'll meet again?

"I'll be back," Shiro assures her.

She watches him in the moonlight, under the glittering stars. He's still slim and fresh-faced and a little awkward. He's mostly human, but the physicians say his Altean heritage will extend his lifespan and slow the aging process, which is why he still looks so young. The more he uses his magic, the longer he'll live, thanks to the healing powers of quintessence. He could live as long as an Altean, and Allura is absurdly thankful for that knowledge. They might be friends for centuries if that's the case. It's a comforting thought.

They stop beside a floating fountain.

"This is where you asked me to marry you," Allura teases. "Do you remember?"

Shiro blushes, and the ghost of Altean markings appear on his cheeks.

"You never did say no," he teases back, and Allura laughs.

"Well you were only little."

"I liked to dream big."

His smile is soft and affectionate, and Allura remembers her words to him: 'Ask me again when you're big'. But Shiro doesn't ask. He's wise enough to know she doesn't feel that way about him, and he values their friendship too highly. So even though he still looks at her with gentle reverence, he keeps his peace and says nothing.

He hugs her goodbye, and they part as friends.

+

It's too dangerous to send messages to him directly. He travels deep into enemy territory in search of the Lions, and the only news that gets in and out is official reports from his squad leader.

He still finds ways to send her messages, though.

A line in an otherwise official-sounding report sets her giggling: "Tell Princess Allura that juniberries _do_ grow on Loraad, so jot that down."

Once, he sends her a picture of a myrax wearing a green bowtie with the caption: "Look! Madame Smugsalot is real! I must ask for her daughter's hand in marriage!" and Allura has to excuse herself from the bridge so she can break down in fits of laughter at the reference to one of their childhood jokes.

Even from half a universe away, he still finds ways to make her smile.

+

They don't meet for ten years.

The Lion quest drags on, slowly, with barely any hint of success. The Castle of Lions moves around a lot as the Altean resistance seeks to gather momentum whilst staying hidden from Galra eyes.

These are dark, tense years. The threat of discovery hangs ominously above them at all times. The messages from Shiro's search party dwindle to a trickle. They're deep undercover now, and the risk of discovery is too great, and they don't dare send too many messages too often.

Allura wonders what he looks like now. How his voice sounds. Holo messages are too risky; everything must be sent in coded text and heavily encrypted. She hasn't seen his face or heard him speak in ten years.

She misses their friendship, and the comfort of his gentle smile.

+

They have allies in the Galra empire - a mysterious group called the Blade of Marmora. And the Blade knows where the Red Lion is hidden.

It seems like a positive breakthrough, finally, after ten fruitless years of searching and investigation. But that's where it all goes wrong.

The message from the Blade reads simply: mission failed. red lion captured by empire. all extraction team taken prisoner. will send news when we have it.

Allura stares at the message for a long time.

She thinks of Shiro in a Galra prison cell - but when she imagines him, he's still a child, or a twig of an adolescent. He's older now. He must look different.

She may never find out what he looks like. Maybe he'll die wearing a face she's never seen.

+

It's several months before they hear from the Blade again: shiro alive. fighting in gladiator pits. will attempt extraction. stand by for updates.

And it's several more months before the updates arrive: extraction partially successful. shiro free. location unknown. but free.

Allura cries in her bedroom, overcome with relief and a bone-deep longing to see her beloved friend alive again. Maybe now he'll come home at last.

+

A few days later, he comes back with the Blue Lion.

Coran comes to her office to tell her.

"Shiro's back! And he found the Blue Lion. And some Paladins, apparently! It's all very exciting, Princess, you should get down to the hangar and meet him!"

Allura needs no encouragement.

She hurries through the Castle corridors, trying not to run, pushing down the butterflies in her stomach. He's back. After all this time. He's back.

A throng of people greets her in the Blue Lion's hangar, and the Lion itself looms large above the crowd - huge, imposing, impressive - the stuff of legends. The crowds part and let Allura through to the Lion's clawed feet, where four scared-looking teenagers stand huddled together and gawping at the crowd.

There's no sign of Shiro, but the teenagers are led by a strikingly handsome man dressed in black. He has one metal arm and a scar across his nose and a shock of white hair that hangs over his beautiful grey eyes. He stands like a king, all broad shoulders and strong arms, but he smiles like a child as he greets the Alteans in the crowd. And he looks… strangely familiar.

Wait.

"Takashi?"

He turns when she says his name, and his face lights up.

"Allura!"

He closes the distance between them and sweeps her up into a hug that lifts her off her feet. He's… strong. She wraps her arms around him and laughs into his neck and he smells… amazing.

_Oh no._

He sets her down, and he still gazes at her like she hung all the stars in the universe, only now he's a foot taller than her and _breathtakingly_ attractive.

And Allura thinks: _oh **fuck**_.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot. Last time I said that I wrote 20,000 words of angsty pining but I S W E A R this is a oneshot *sweats nervously*


End file.
